


The More Boys I Meet

by JaneyKatherineHummingbird



Series: Soul Songs [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Dogs, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, TaserHawk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28823022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneyKatherineHummingbird/pseuds/JaneyKatherineHummingbird
Summary: Darcy gives up on men, gets a dog, then finds her soulmate.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Darcy Lewis
Series: Soul Songs [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105802
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	The More Boys I Meet

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by one of my favorite Carrie Underwood songs, “The More Boys I Meet.”

Darcy was having a horrible string of luck with men. It had reached the point where she was convinced she was cursed. Seriously, it shouldn’t be THIS hard to find a decent man, heck, she lived and worked with some very fine quality men. The problem was, they were all taken. Steve practically had “property of Black Widow” written on him, Sam was totally in love with Maria, and Bucky had recently found his soulmate in Sharon Carter. Darcy was happy for them, but she totally wished she too could experience the wonder of hearing her Words spoken. 

She’d dated Ian, who’d been nice, but had found his actual soulmate, then she’d had a fling with Brock, who turned out to be Hydra AND a terrorist, curse his obnoxiously handsome face! 

She’d gone out with Jorge from Shield, but he’d been transferred to Greenland suddenly, so that went nowhere. 

Finally, she’d declared a break from dating and begged Tony to let her adopt a dog. The billionaire was very reluctant to bend his no pets rule for her, but she’d used her most pleading expression and winning smile and finally he’d caved.

“Don’t make me regret this, Lewis,” he’d warned her. 

“You won’t!” She’d crowed happily and gone out to start researching. 

A few weeks later, Darcy was the proud dog mama of Archie, a corgi mix who was missing one leg. She’d taken one look into those hopeful eyes and been smitten immediately. The staff had told her he’d been waiting for adoption for almost three years, which broke her heart. Poor pup had been passed over a lot because of his missing paw, but he was so sweet, she knew he was the one.

Archie bonded with her very quickly, and Darcy felt her outlook on life improving. It was so nice to have a cuddly companion to snuggle with! He got along like a champ on his three legs and had an enthusiasm for life that was infectious. He was adored by the Avengers and she noticed Steve and Bucky, in particular, started carrying doggy treats in their pockets. 

She’d had Archie for about four months, before she accepted a casual date on a whim. Pete was a friendly guy. Surely one date couldn’t hurt, right?

Wrong. Halfway through dinner, he shamelessly admitted to cheating on his soulmate and even joked about it, resulting in Darcy deserting him and getting a cab home.

Afterwards, she sat in the common room for a long time, cuddling Archie and muttering about stupid men while watching CSI reruns. As she started a fourth episode, She heard footsteps approach and then stop in front of her. Darcy was too grumpy to look up until he spoke. 

_”What’s with the long face, Lewis?”_

Startled at hearing her words, she stared into the concerned face of Clint Barton, America’s favorite archer and the only avenger she’d not actually spoken to yet, though clearly he knew who she was.

 _”I was thinking how the more boys I date, the more I love my dog,”_ she admitted, smiling down at Archie and scratching him between the ears. 

When she glanced back up, Clint’s expression was a comical mixture of elation, shock, and dismay. 

“Man, Lewis. You sure did give me a complex.”

He rolled up his sleeve to reveal her words on his very fine bicep and Darcy snorted with laughter. 

“In my defense,” she giggled, “I’ve suffered through some truly AWFUL dudes trying to find my soulmate. Isn’t that right, Archie?”

Archie wagged his tail and looked curiously at Clint, who broke into a smile.

“Awww a Corgi! Can I pet him?” He asked eagerly. 

“Sure,” she said, watching happily as Clint made instant friends with Archie, who leaned into his hand and wagged his tail happily. She could tell that he was clearly a dog lover, given how he interacted with her pet. A guy who was that sweet to animals couldn’t be that bad, right? 

“I think you’ve earned his approval, Hawkeye,” she said, smiling at the sight of Archie getting a belly rub and looking completely blissed out. 

“Are those hands as good with humans as they are dogs?” She added suggestively. 

Clint paused in his doggy appreciation to smirk at her. 

“Maybe,” he answered coyly. “Are you interested in finding out?” 

“Perhaps,” she answered just as coyly. “You seem like a good dude, but I’ve had really rotten luck with men, so I’ll hope you won’t be offended if I want to be a little cautious. I do have high hopes though.” 

She waggled her eyebrows and gave him a once over. 

Clint grinned at her.

“Not offended at all. I heard about that bastard Rumlow. He was one devious SOB.” 

“Yeah,” she said with a grimace. “Plus, my taser didn’t work on him because he had some kind of serum in him. I had to settle for watching Steve beat the crap out of him.” 

“That was very satisfying.” Clint agreed. “Say, would you like some human company for your binge-watching?” 

“Sure,” Darcy said, scooting over and making room. “Plenty of room for soulmates.”

After a few more episodes and some low key flirting, Clint and Darcy ended up sitting very close together, and a happy snoring corgi draped over both their laps.

**Author's Note:**

> Back to fluff again after the previous installment’s angst. I have a great idea for a Taserbones Fic next....


End file.
